Søstudie. Skagen

1877–1881

Travel: Netherlands

1877–1881

Paris: lessons with Bonnat and the Impressionists

Lives in Paris and studies under Léon Bonnat; meets the Impressionists — Monet, Sisley, Degas, Renoir and Manet — and undoubtedly comes under their influence. During these years he travels extensively in Europe, meeting artists and developing his skills and outlook.

1882

The first summer in Skagen

Returning to Denmark, he spends June to October in Skagen, then a remote fishing village at the northern tip of Jutland, painting themes from local life and portraits of the community there, which includes the writers Holger Drachmann, Georg Brandes and Henrik Pontoppidan and the painters Michael Ancher and Anna Ancher. He will return almost every summer, spending winters in Copenhagen, where he paints large commissioned portraits, or abroad; the Skagen circle gathers around this great organizer and bon vivant.